Women are as different as the flowers in a meadow.
They come in all different shapes and sizes,
with different dreams and limitless ambitions.
They are quirky and brave,
timid and bold,
sexy and serious,
strict and fun-loving.
But they have one thing in common –
they are bright as the first star in the sky,
beautiful as the first flower in a spring meadow,
warm as the first ray of sun after the rain,
mysterious as the most precious treasure
and more fabulous than anything else in this world.
Thank you for being who you are!

Today I want to greet and congratulate every woman who reads this blog. As a special “Thank You” and a tribute to the power of enormous creativity of ladies all over the world I have put together a list of the posts (written only by female authors) that will answer your biggest life balance questions, give you motivation and inspire to live a balanced life every day.

(Of course I am not saying that men are less talented than women are and I guess soon I’ll have to put together a post of 44 Most Inspiring Life Balance Posts written by Men to avoid any gender discrimination on this blog, but today let’s focus on women. Because every once in a while every woman needs to know how Awesome she is!)

For Women by Women

75 Most Empowering, Inspirational Quotes for Sassy, Kickass Women by Tia, Your Life Your WayI decided to create a reminder for myself and all women, bringing together quotes that inspire, empower and remind us of how powerful we really are.
ps: A smile is still the sexiest curve on your body. Ever.
pps: If you know a special woman, let her know how phenomenal she is.

45 Simple Actions to Start Losing Weight by Steph, Trading PoundsAs of this past Sunday, I have lost 107.6 pounds. I can honestly say to you that it has not been difficult. I know it is because I have not felt deprived and I don’t deny myself whatever I want to have (it’s not just about eating salads!). How am I doing all of this? By making small shifts in my habits and small changes to my routine. The kind of things that will last a lifetime.

How to make lasting girlfriends by Stephanie Klein, StephanieKlein.comSo to start: I’m pretty kick-ass, and I know it. I have a job which I use to pay for my travels and for my MFA […] So even though most of my life is great, I find myself not having any stable girls to really turn to when I need a drink, a shopping partner, or someone to hang out with when the hubby is burning the midnight oil. Advise me on how to make lasting girlfriends again.

Choose Your Path

A Simple Guide To Remembering Who You Are by Katie Tallo, Momentum GatheringLit by the glow of a computer screen, my face is reflected in the glass doors leading outside. Out there a winter ready sky is etched with the spidery outlines of maples barely visible as night falls. Their leaves are gone. It’s just me and my reflection. No tweets, no pokes, no stats, no emails, no Facebook updates tumbling across my laptop.

35 Ways I Don’t Fit In by Annabel Candy, Get in the Hot Spot Do you feel as if you don’t fit in? I do and last week I was told that everyone else feels the same way.
What a relief. Instead of hiding our quirks we can share them and move on.

Scripting Your Sacred Story by Lisa Byrne, Well-grounded Life
Yesterday on a walk, I had one of those moments of lightning bolt clarity. I saw the the process of moving from a disconnected, depleted place in life to a vital, creative, purposeful and fulfilled place in life as 7 clear steps along a journey.

Trusting Yourself to Choose a New Direction After a Lifetime of Mistakes by Jennifer Gresham, Everyday Bright
You know, rationally, that everyone makes mistakes.
But it hasn’t just been one mistake.
It’s been one mistake after another. Doozies. Pursuing the wrong career, trusting the wrong person, buying a house at the wrong time, wasting time on the wrong opportunities.

18 Guideposts for Your Personal Journey by Carolyn Rubenstein, A Beautiful Ripple EffectI am delighted to share with you a few tips or helpful lessons I’ve learned over the past 26 years. Many of these tips serve as guideposts for me as I continue to struggle and wonder through different phases of life. I hope that some resonate with you as you begin to navigate this magical new phase of your own life.

A Fresh Start by Kristi Hines, KikolaniToday is a wonderful day! For the first time, I made the commute to work from one room of my house to another. I am excited to announce that this Halloween marks the first day that I am no longer a part of the 9 to 5 workforce, but am instead a new member of the proudly self-employed!

Be Proud Of Yourself If You Have Enough Courage To Grow With A New Experience by Fran, High on Health
My life here in Pisac, Peru is full of learning, growth, new experiences and new beginnings. Just living in the Sacred Valley and being immersed in the energy of the land in itself is enough to put anyone through a series of subtle little life lessons. But just like any other energetic hot spot in the world, the Sacred Valley tends to pull in a bunch of people that are ready to delve deep into their personal and spiritual path which makes for an interesting group dynamic of travelers and temporary residents.

On Being Yourself

Don’t wait for love: 10 ways to love yourself now by Dani, Positively PresentIt may seem cliche or even ironic, but I can only speak from a place of my experiences and my experiences have shown me that the quote above is 100%, shockingly, undeniably true. If you want other people to love you, you must love yourself.
We all know this is generally much easier said than done. Of course we all want to love ourselves, but it’s not always that easy, is it? Sometimes it can be very, very difficult to believe that you are worth loving. Sometimes it can be damn near impossible to believe that you are valuable. But you are!

The Top 10 Signs Your Intuition is More Developed Than You Think by Angela Artemis, Powered by IntuitionThe fact is, most people are intuitive and — much more intuitive than they believe. There are common signs that appear throughout the life of intuitive individuals. Each of them is a “calling card” trying to get your attention.

Why Your Passions Infuse Your Life With Creativity and Peace by Fran Sorin, Awake Create
I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These are your greatest treasures. Simple in actions and in thoughts, you return to the Source of Being. Lao-Tzu
Do you remember discovering things that you wanted to learn about? That you couldn’t get enough of? That you always made time for regardless of your schedule?

Remove Your 10 Blocks To Creativity by Evelyn Lim, Abundance TapestryMost people, including yourself, may think about about creativity as doing well in art and music. So if you find that you are nowhere near producing great works in these areas, you may well declare that you are not creative. However, I would like to embrace a broader definition of what creativity is.

10 Life-Changing Facts to Heal the Inner Critic by Gail Brenner, A Flourishing Life
Let’s tell the truth. If you feel held back in any area of your life and have the sense that there must be something more, your inner critic is alive and well. There is nothing helpful about the way the inner critic guides you. Who finds it supportive to be incessantly doubted, devalued, and deflated?

7 Ways You Can Use To Stop Doubting Yourself by Karen Ruby, A Meaningful ExistenceIt may seem like we are all alone when we are full of doubt about ourselves and our abilities. We look at other people and it looks like everyone else has it all figured out. Look at them, enjoying success after success. It looks so effortless for everyone else, but not for us. Why are we the only one’s struggling? We ask ourselves: Why can’t I seem to make any good decisions in my life? Am I the only one who seems to be screwing up all the time?

Are You a Perfectionist? by Lori, Life for InstanceFor most of my life I thought I might be a Type A personality, but then, I didn’t really know what that meant. I do now. It means I have to do everything perfectly; I have to be perfect, which of course is impossible. It means something inside of me is always shooting for perfection, missing and then beating up on myself for the failure. Well I have just one thing to say about this Type A stuff.

Get through tough times

From Fear to Motivation in 22 Radical Thoughts by Farnoosh, Prolific LivingMy motivation is insanely out of control lately. If I don’t calm down soon, this excitement is going to kill my productivity and my focus! That’s how motivated I feel lately.
No fear. Not anymore. Not one ounce. I am done being scared. I am done making decisions with fear. I am finished half-committing to my goals. I am done fooling around with my dreams.

12 Easy Ways to Get in a Good Mood On a Bad Day by Nea, Self Improvement SagaOh how wonderful it would be to wake up in a good mood every single day and to remain in that mood no matter what curve balls life throws your way. As much as I’d love to master that, the truth is that we sometimes have to work at it.

How You Can Put An End to the Negative Thinking That is Holding You Back by Sibyl Chavis, Possibility of TodayTell the negative committee that meets inside your head to sit down and shut up. Ann Bradford
Isn’t that quote so hilarious … and just so true? There really is a “negative committee” that is having continual meetings in our minds. It’s conducting business of its own and of course leading the charge when it comes to stirring up all of our doubts.

7 Reasons to Be Happy Even if Things Aren’t Perfect Now by Lori Deschene, Tiny BuddhaBeing happy doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. It means you’ve decided to look beyond the imperfections. – Unknown
My life doesn’t always look exactly like I want it to. I spend many days writing alone in my living room, when I’d rather work from a beachside office space I share with friends. I drive a beat-up old Toyota, when I’d far prefer something that doesn’t have roll-up windows or a cassette player.

10 things not to say to a depressed person (and please don’t ever say to me either) by Noch Noch, Be Me, Be NaturalI cringed at these things my friends said to me these few years. For those of you who don’t really get us, I’ve decided to let you know 10 things not to say to a depressed person from my own experience. And be forewarned, for if you ever dare to even start uttering the below to me, I will hang you by your legs upside down, skin you alive and then deep fry you before publicly disowning you and denying your pitiful existence.

10 Ways to Boldly Bloom Through Life Transitions by Barrie Davenport, Live Bold and Bloom
As predictably as there are changing seasons, life transitions for each of us are inevitable. Maybe you are in one right now. If not, hold on to your hat. One is right around the corner.
I have found there are two types of transition that we encounter several times during our lifetimes: the slow growers and the surprise attackers.

5 Signs It’s Time To Let Go by Aileen, Kaizen Vision
I’ve not yet met a single person who hasn’t had a dream in their heart at one time or another. I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t held on to a desire. I have seen some achieve their dreams and desires, I’ve seen some let go and I’ve seen some hold on when they should have let ago a long time ago. I’ve also been in each one of those realities.

9 Ways to Overcome Frustration and Discouragement by Stacy, Grow with StacyOvercoming frustration, discouragement and overwhelm can be very challenging because we are starting from a place of negativity and or despair. It may feel impossible to get to a better place and it certainly can seem like it may last forever. We have all been there.

Everyday Motivation

7 Simple Ways to Boost Your Mood, Right Now by Ali Luke for Pick the Brain
We all feel a bit down at times. Perhaps you’ve had a stressful day at work, or you’re juggling a lot of different tasks at home. Maybe your plans haven’t gone as smoothly as you’d hoped, or you’re struggling to find your path in a complex world.
When you’re feeling low, it’s easy to let your mood get on top of you: by snapping at your partner or kids, or procrastinating on your work, or even turning to drugs or alcohol. There are plenty of simple ways to boost your mood, though – so next time you feel bad, try one of these.

Ode to Joy (or how to take better care of yourself) by Sandi Amorim, Deva CoachingI know I don’t always take the best care of myself, distracted by business, commitments to others and yes, I admit it – sometimes laziness.
What? A life coach admitting to laziness? Not too common I know, but hey I’m human and I’ve got my challenges just like you do!

Finding Sanity through Awareness and Action by Robin Easton, Naked in EdenI’ve sometimes felt overwhelmed by the changes that need to occur on a global scale to ensure a healthy future for our children, and for all beings. At times, when I first came out of the Australian rainforest I felt hopeless and helpless. I didn’t know where to start. But rather than focus on feeling overwhelmed or what I couldn’t control, I decided to focus on what I can do to bring about positive change in my own life and in the world. There are many things we can do in our lives to feel more positive and sane about both the present and the future.

Are You The Master Of Your Day Or Are You Too Busy To Notice? by Natalie Sisson, The Suitcase EntrepreneurAfter continually working for hours on end, in the early morning, late at night and on one too many weekends, I realized the error in my ways. As much as I like to think I’m organized, productive, creative and focused, I have not been managing the processes in my life.
I was making more but not working less. I was flying through my day, managing minor issues as they came up and reacting to everything as quickly as I could, instead of getting perspective and prioritizing what was important and what wasn’t.

Work

25 Secrets to Live and Work Intelligently from the Heart by Liz Strauss, Successful BlogWe can think and plan life. We can think and plan a business. We can build brilliant business strategy and savvy life design. We can make sure we’re on budget, we manage our time, and delivering high ROI that sees to the needs of work, friends, and family. But savvy and brilliant only go so far. If we want build a lasting business inside a meaningful life we need our head hardwired to our heart.

5 Steps to Discovering Your Business Sweet Spot! by Janine and Jo, Love Your Small BusinessOur research tells us that women entrepreneurs start out in business because they want to make a great living doing what they are good at. However, it seems that this on its own is no longer enough.
Our research also tells us that despite the best of intentions, lots of women are struggling to get the balance quite right – too much work to do, too little time, not enough money; plenty of money but a lack of fulfillment, a struggle to have the impact or reach you desire – the list goes on.

How to Love Your Sucky Job by Melody Fletcher, Deliberate BlogI was talking to someone the other day, who was complaining to me about how much she hated her job. She worked in an office – one of those cubicle farms, which allow companies to herd employees into big, windowless rooms like cattle under the guise of fostering “open communication” and the like. She truly believed that working there every day was stealing her soul, but she felt trapped. Finding another job in this economy seemed like impossibility. And because she wasn’t a senior manager, she didn’t think that she had any influence on the working environment itself. There was nothing she could do but grit her teeth, nurse her ulcer, and accept the fact that things were never going to change.

3 Things No One Tells You About Finding Your Life’s Work, by Therese, The UnlostFor the entirety of my adult life, I’ve wanted to find that passion—that thing that drives me. It was never a question of existence—with everything inside of me, I’ve always known that there was something I wanted to do with all my soul, something that was inseparable from my sense of purpose, of aliveness, my sense of self. Yes, I’ve always known that this thing existed. The maddening part, though, was that I hadn’t a clue what it was.

Money

Let’s Talk Money by Tsh Oxenreider, Simple Mom
Almost two years ago, I first shared some newly-found emotional benefits to being debt-free. We just sent in our last payment to finish off my school loans from college, and were emotionally high from the eurphoria of not owing a thing to anyone.
Two years later, and we’re still shaking in our boots in gratitude for being debt-free.

10 Ways You Can Have Enough Money and Stuff by Courtney Carver, Be More with LessAs a society, we are eating too much, drinking too much, working too much and spending too much. We take more drugs for anxiety and depression than ever before. Our debt is climbing and our savings are dwindling.
It’s time to start asking the tough questions, because it’s very likely that you are not living the life you desire. You are depriving yourself of real happiness because you think you need more. More money, and more stuff.

Living to the Fullest

101 Ways To Live Your Life To The Fullest by Celestine Chua, Personal Excellence
How do you feel about your life today? Are you living every day in exuberance? Do you love what you’re doing? Are you excited every single moment? Are you looking forward to what’s coming up next? Are you living your best life?
If your answer to any of the above is a no, maybe or not sure, that means you’re not living your life to the fullest.

13 Ways to Live a Dynamic Life by Shannon Ables, The Simply Luxurious Life
“Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” –Jim Rohn
The protagonist of any well-written novel is a character that undergoes a significant change by the end of the story, and if written well, it is a character the readers become attached to because they may see the same possibility for change in their own lives.

100 Unmaterialistic Joys for A Bold Life by Tess Marshall, The Bold Life
“Enjoy life, this is no dress rehearsal.” -Unkown
In no particular order:
1. Expressed love
2. Being creative
3. Feeling grateful

6 Positively Powerful tips to Re-ignite Your Excitement about Life by Zeenat, Positive Provocations
If you’re not as excited about your life as you want to be, take comfort in knowing that increasing the joy in your life is something that you can actually take control of. Becoming motivated, happy, inspired, energized, and fully engaged in your life is definitely possible! When I talk about gaining excitement, it isn’t so much about working to “fix” yourself as it is learning new skills of acceptance, emotional flow, and focusing your efforts on activities that have personal meaning.

Living a Life of Integrity by Courtney, Faithful Bloggers
Integrity. We hear this word mentioned a lot, especially as Christians. But, exactly, what is it and how do we live with integrity?
As I looked for a clear definition, I realized that it is not an easy word to explain. I didn’t like the definitions I found, so I thought I would give it a
try myself.

Marriage/Relationships

25 Tips To Make Your Marriage Rock! by Preeti Bhatt, Happy Heart and MindZenguy and I are friends first and seemed to be married for zillion years or so. While we have mutual love and care for each other, we still need to work on our marriage and relationship often time. Here are a few ways, you can do that with your spouse. While this tips are for happier marriage, it can be applied to other relationships as well as such boyfriend or girl friend, a friend, parent, siblings etc.

The Two Sneakiest Marriage Problems To Watch Out For by Amy Waterman, Save My Marriage Today
Among the many couples who’ve consulted with us, we’ve come across two common problems that they fight about the most. To the passing eye, these everyday problems aren’t threatening – but any couple should know better than to ignore them.

How would you like to greet women today?

If you know any inspiring female bloggers that I didn’t mention above please mention them in the comments below (don’t be shy, you can mention yourself too :-)). Or tell us what women inspire you to live a balanced and fulfilling life.

Smart Thoughts (18)

Hi Anastasiya! What a HUGE amount of work went into the preparation for this post! Awesome job! And you’ve created a great resource for us to discover great blogs!
I’m very honored that you included my post in this list.Thank you!
Happy Women’s Day!
Lori

Anastasiya,
Wow, what a wonderful resource for all of us. You put so much work into this. Thank you so much. I don’t know how you do it all. Happy Women’s Day – and thank you so much for including my post as well.
xoxo,
Angela

This is SUCH a work of love. I am truly honored to be listed with these other dynamic women. It is a great collection of posts and women. So many new connections that I look forward to checking out. You put a lot of work into this and is shows. I am grateful as I’m sure many other woman will also be. You are doing wonderful work here, and I thank you for caring and sharing. Such a gift you give us all. Hugs, Robin

Thanks so much for including me. I actually think it’s amazing I know many of these women after just two years in the blogosphere. Makes me feel lucky and part of an amazing community. Now that’s a reason to celebrate Women’s Day!

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